Bocca della Verità

The Mouth of Truth

The Mouth of Truth (Italian: Bocca della Verità [bokka della veri ta] is a marble mask in Rome, Italy, which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum Boarium (the ancient cattle market). According to enduring medieval legend, it will bite off the hand of any liar who places their hand in its mouth, or, alternatively, any who utters a lie while their hand is in the mouth. It still attracts many visitors who audaciously insert their hands.

We tried our luck in the summer of 2023 on our grand tour of Italy. We were thankfully unscathed.

The card was made using Photoshop's Generative AI. The bars in front of the kids were removed and the Santa hat was added.